Changeable display apparatus



Dec/28,1926. 1,612,662

C. R. STILWELL CHANGEABLE DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31. 1925 Patented Dec. 28, 192 6.

UNITED STATES CHARLES Brennan STILVELL, F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

'CI-TANGEABLE DISPLAY APPARATUS.

Application filed December 31, 1925. Serial No. 78,589.

The principal objects of this invention are, to devise an apparatus for exhibiting numerous displays on the same exhibiting surface which will maintain accuracy of register with the various portions of the display and which may be confined within a very shallow space, thereby enabling its use effectively in theatre drop curtain advertising.

A further object is to devise a construction which may be produced at a very low cost. f The principal feature of the invention consists in the arrangement of a plurality of endless belts of flexible material so that a portion of each belt is located in a display position with the several exposed portions of the various belts matching to produce a common display surface.

A further important feature of the invention consists in the novel manner of maintaining the several sections of the display surface in register, and a still further important feature consists in the novel arrangement of the endless belts and the manner of operating same, whereby the apparatus is contained within a very shallow depth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevational view of a' display surface, illustrating the application of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevational part sectional view of the form of display apparatus particularly applied to drop curtains.

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of one end of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a modified arrangement of the endless dis play apparatus.

4o Changeable display surfaces have been known in which flexible strips have been utilized which are carried around rollers in such a manner that a portion of each of a plurality of strips is displayed at one time and matching patterns of various kinds are arranged on the several strips.

Such known devices have numerous defects and objectionable which is the expensive construction required for moving the display portions of the strips at a uniform speed and also the complicated method required for reversing the movement of the strips. 7

A still further difficulty has been found in maintaining the characters on the strips in register.

features, amongst a distance equal to one The present construction eliminates all of these difficulties by constructing the display strips in the form of the endless bands 1, which in the form shown in Figure 4 extends around the paired rollers 2 and 3 which are spaced apart the desired distance to give the required display surface.

A third roller 4 is arranged in a suitable position to the rear of the rollers 2 and 3 and is adapted to hold the endless band at a suitable tension.

Either, or both of the rollers 2 and 3 may be driven by means of a suitable mechanism, not shown, to move the band and these rollers are provided adjacent to the ends with short pins 5 which engage the equally spaced perforations 6 around the edges of the bands.

The pins 5 form a sprocket drive for the bands so that the bands will not slip on the surface of the rollers, consequently when two or more sets of rollers 2 and 3 are arranged to form a display surface, as illustrated in Figure 4, the bands will move a uniform distance at each operation of the driving mechanism. 7

The method of operation of the drive is well known, in that the rollers are turned a sufficient distance to move the area of one display surface out of sight and bring a new area to view. There then follows a period of rest with the various sections of the display surface matching, after which the bands again move in unison.

In places where the depth back of the display surface is limited so that the display bands would be very short if constructed on the lines of the illustration in Figure 4:, said bands may be arranged to overlap as illustrated in Figure 2.

The construction herein shown is particularly adapted to drop curtain practice and it consists of a frame work 7, the edges only of which are shown and this frame work is arranged at each end of the rollers which carry the endless display bands.

The rollers are arranged so that the top roller 8 of the display series is arrangec below the top edge 9 of the display opening display surface, the band 10 extending upwardly from the roller 8 and passes around a roller 11.

Aroller 12 is arranged adjacent to the roller 8 and the companion roller 13 of the roller 12 is spaced therefrom the required distance for the desired width of surface display.

A second band 14: passes around the rollers 12 and 13 and back of the roller 8 where it rests against the face of the back side of the band 10 and extends upwardly to the roller 15.

The bands 10 and 14 are of exactly the same length and travel at a uniform speed.

Any desired number of these bands may be arranged as illustrated in Figure 2, to provide any desired height of display surface and, while, the rollers 8, 12 and 13 may be driven if desired, the driving-mechanism here shown is in thei orm of an-endless chain belt 16wh'ich extends around sprocket wheels 17 arranged on the ends of the rollers supporting the upper ends of the looped bands.

The display belts are preferably perforated along the edge as shown in Figure 3 and the driving rollers are provided with suitable sprocket pins to ensure the proper register of the display suriace of the di'l l'erent bands.

The chain belt 16 isdriven by a suitable sprocket 18 which is operated by the-starting gear 19, which in turn is operated by the cam on the gear io-driven by a suitable motor 21.

This arrangement of mechanism enables the device to be enclosed in a very shallow spare and when placed upon a drop curtain, it is ot such a. nature, that it will not interfere with the curtain in raising and lower ing, as the frames 7 are taperedtoward the top and'bottom ends and willnot catch and foul the adjacent curtain.

It will be understood from this descrip tion that as the display members are in the form ofendless belts, they can be operated indefinitely and further, that as they require no reversal the mechanism tor-operating will be reduced to the simplest possible 'lorm, consequently the cost ofconstruction is reduced to the minimum, as also is the cost of operation and there is practically nothing that can get out of order.

The arrangement of the perforations in the edges of the belts, which are equally spaced, and the pins on the rollers over which the belts travel not only avoids slipping between the rollers and belts, but eliminates inaccuracy of register between adjoining belts due to varying expansion and contraction in the length of the belts.

-What I claim as my invention-is 1. A changeable display apparatus comprising a plurality of parallellyspaced trans verse guides arranged in a common plane, a plurality of endless display belts of uniform lengths each looped around a pair of said guides and extending from the rear of said guides in a plane substantially parallel to the common plane of said guides, rollers supporting the rearwardly extended portion of each of said belts in closely parallel association with each other and the plane or" the display surface, and means for periodically moving said belts in unison.

2. A changeable display apparatus comprisingla'plurality of parallel ly spaced transverse guides arranged in a common plane, a plurality of endless display belts, each looped around apair of said guides and extending from the-rear of said guides in a plane substantially parallel to the common plane ofsaid guides, rollers supporting the rearwardly extended portions of said belts in: closely parallel association, sprockets on said rollers, a. chain belt engaging each of said sprockets, and means for driving said chain belt with periodic movement.

3. As changeable display apparatus comprising a. pair of upright frames spaced apart, a plurality of: rollers supported? horizontally between said frames and arranged in spaced pairs, rollers arranged horizontally at the upper portion of the frames, endless display belts oi equal length supported one on each of said upper rollers and extending downwardly and embracing the lower rollers so as to present short display areas at the forward sides of the lower set of rollers, said-areas forming. a common display surface, sprocket wheels on the ends of said upper set of rollers, an endless chain belt extending around said upper sprockets so as to rotate each alternate sprocket inan opposite direction, a sprocket wheel drir ing said chain belt, and means for periodically driving said latter sprocket wh eel.

41-. A changeable display apparatus comprising a plurality of parallelly spacedlrollers arranged in pairs and alliin av common plane, the opposing rollers of each pair being arranged in close proximity one to the other, a plurality of endless belts of equal lengths each passing over a pair of said rollers and adapted to partially encircle one out the closely arranged rollers 01" theadjacent pair in overlapped relation to the belt carried thereby, each of said belts extending from said rollers in a plane substantially parallel to the'commonplane ol said paired rollers, rollers arranged in offset relation supporting said beltsv in said substantially parallel relation, and means for intermittently rotating said latter rollers in unison each in a direction opposed to that of the adjacent roller.

CHARLES RICHARD STILVVELL. 

